Tales of the Wilderness
by Deadly Raptor
Summary: A collection of oneshots, detailing various events on the Distant Planet and occasionally the real world .
1. Atmosphere

**Since I've been having a lot of ideas for oneshots lately, I've decided to put all future one-chapter entries into this collection. They won't flood my story section this way. The first of these is "Atmosphere".**

**Unlike my other two oneshots, this one functions sort of like a brief adventure tail (pun very much intended). Sorry Dspr, but this one doesn't use the exact same style as "Impact".**

**Atmosphere**

The sun slowly rose over the horizon as its light was starting to reach a remote region. A subspecies of pikmin was beginning to stir at the top of a mountain. What are they known as? Silkmin, or _Paraminicus fluto _.

But these pikmin weren't heading to the lower valley to forage for food. All Silkmin are a silky white and have dandelion puffs instead of the usual leaves, buds or flowers. This species went airborne. Silkmin spend almost their entire lives floating in open air, landing only to reproduce or sleep. By the time the light of the morning had taken full affect, the first Silkmin had jumped into the air and floated off. Followed by another, and another, and yet another, until they were all airborne. They had been having sightings of a giant creature for the past few days, and now they seemed fixated on discovering what it was.

The Silkmin are part of an ecosystem. What kind of ecosystem? An ecosystem in the sky; inhabited by what are known as atmospheric beasts. These creatures ceaselessly float through the sky; most of them spending their entire life without landing. They are even _born_ in the sky,

The Silkmin group would float around all day long. Since dandelion puffs aren't very good for photosynthesis, they regularly feed off the contents of Aerial Cephalossus eggs. The eggs are full of nutrition and contain lighter-than-air gasses, so they drift through the air like balloons. But egg eating is a riskier business than it is on land. While the Silkmin group had successfully found and were feeding off of vulnerable eggs, they were unaware that they were being watched by the learning species known as the Aerial Cephalossus (_Architeuthis aeris)_. In a similar manner to the aquatic Hexapus, the Arial Cephalossus can figure out simple problems and situations. This one learned that the eggs of its species attract prey, so it follows batches of them from a distance.

Despite the fact that the Aerial Cephalossus is the size of a Bulborb (without the tentacles), it can be surprisingly stealthy. Though normally pearl white with blue highlights, they can alter their color to a completely pure white, making it resemble a cloud. The one that was stalking the group of Silkmin had already demonstrated this ability. Though it would be obvious from a side view that it isn't a cloud, this one was facing the Silkmin.

The Silkmin continued to suck the fluid from the gradually sinking, spherical eggs. They were soon dropping through the cloud barrier. And the Aerial Cephalossus continued to float in. Closer and closer. But by the time it was within striking range, some of the Silkmin had already finished. With their attention no longer on food, they took noticed of the incoming cloud that seemed to be turning... and forming tentacles.

Sensing the danger, the few Silkmin floated away at top speed. In response to this, the rest of them abandoned their food to escape. Realizing that it had to attack now, the Aerial Cephalossus lashed out its two longest tentacles. But it was already too late. The Silkmin had slipped away as the tentacles clasped nothing but air. Turning a shade of pink (frustration), the Cephalossus spread out its tentacles, and (in a swift motion) darted through and above the cloud barrier. The species owes its mastery of the air to its internal gasses and relatively light weight.

A few minutes had passed since the attack. The Silkmin (15) drifted around, trying to sight other means of feeding. But this was quickly interrupted by a massive shadow crossing their position. They looked off into the distance and saw a massive, long and steady figure in the distance. This was the creature they were trying to find, and they immediately set off to approach it.

The only obstacle they encountered along the way was a Greatest Spotted Jellyfloat (Cephalus bellulus) . Despite the fact that the golden beast managed to kill three of them, they remained fixated on the giant. And, with a few breezes and all, they caught up to it.

It was incredibly large; big enough to blanket the Wistful Wild (note that newly deceased atmospheric beasts are usually reduced to jelly before they make it to the ground). It was shaped like a large disc and had soft, gray skin. There was also a lump in the center, which may contain the animal's brain.

Floating on gas releases and light tissue, this was an Atmospheric Disc (_Ignorabilis circumvolito abalieno)._

The twelve Silkmin landed on the cushiony skin, and were immediately rewarded with an Aerial Cephalossus egg that had gotten stuck on the Disc's head, against the air currents.

The giant Disc is much older than most researchers think. The species has actually been around for many thousands of years. And almost nothing has changed about them, not even the lights they give off after dark. They've even been around since humans. Heck, many humans spotted them as they made the occasional drop below the cloud barrier. They then became a famous entity, known by almost everyone.

But the humans tended to call them "UFOs".


	2. Evacuate

**This oneshot combines showing and telling.**

**Evacuate**

_**Day one in the Awakening Wood. Morning.**_

All is normal in the forest. While the Bulborbs are sleeping, pikmin of all colors are harvesting pellets and multiplying. Nothing special happens, save for a five-minute long drizzle. The day drags on until noon.

A white pikmin is standing in the middle of an open field, its eyes focused on the ground. Something very bizarre is happening. It can sense multiple Snavians, Mandiblards, Segnellids and more, tunneling through the earth below him. But they aren't coming after him, not even the predators. The burrowers simply pass him and continue in the opposite direction of the forest.

By the end of day, no burrower is left in the Awakening Wood.

_**Day two in the Awakening Wood. Almost noon.**_

A group of pink pikmin are relaxing in the shade of a leafy sprout, their eyelashes moving in the breeze. The moment of rest is interrupted by a rustling of small plants behind them. Several dozen Musids, mice that you'd normally find in the abandoned sewers, came scampering past and over their position.The pinks got up and followed them, until they eventually dispersed and disappeared in the fields outside the forest.

A short distance away, one red and one blue watch as an entire drive of Vermids (like Musids, you'd normally only find these rats in the abandoned sewers**) **came scurrying through a divide. As soon as they exited it, they dispersed.

By the time the pinks were done glaring, they turned around to see the frightening sight of Scale Worm (A type of snake). They split up, but to their surprise, the tan serpent didn't come after them. It merely slithered away,

_**Dusk.**_

Seventeen orange pikmin were preparing to call it a night. But before they could enter their onion, they heard the sounds of very loud and slightly distorted songs. They looked up and saw entire flocks of Unmarked Spectralids filling the night sky, all flying in the same direction. The oranges watched until they became mere specks in the air; they then entered the onion.

_**Day three. Sometime after noon.**_

The multicolored pikmin all split up and looked around. The Awakening Wood was now completely deserted, with the only creatures left being Bulborbs, Dwarfs and the various birds.

_**Seven minutes later.**_

Entire flocks of birds began to take to the air, their noisy flapping filling the air. Different birds went in different directions, while flocks all traveled as masses. The forest was soon silent.

_**Ten minutes later.**_

Dwarf Bulborbs of all colors began to scream and bark almost uncontrollably. The real Grub-Dogs began to stir and give off their own noisy vocals, followed by them running away; not even paying attention to the pikmin.Between and through plants, dwarfs poured while the larger Bulborbs stepped over everything.

The Awakening Wood was now completely deserted, save for the pikmin, all of whom were oblivious.

_**Three minutes later.**_

Suddenly, the pikmin's stems all began to stiffen, notably the whites'. Quite a few of them jumped in shocks and other fell over. Then, as if part of one mind, they all started running at top speed.

The white pikmin darted over and under roots as blue pikmin jumped into a lake. They were all heading back to their onions. They made it inside and the ships proceeded to lift off. Followed by most of the other colors.

The yellow onion made it into the sky just as the last few reds climbed into their own onion as fast as they possibly could. It then spun its flower and started to lift off the ground.

The purple onion sat in a small clearing as dozens of purples came sprinting towards it, tripping and falling over each other along the way, causing many to hastily get up only to collide again. Straining, the last few purples made it into the onion. The flower twirled and started to blow away the dust around it. It curled its legs, and ever so gradually, flew away.

_**Twenty-six seconds later.**_

An extremely powerful earthquake struck the Awakening Wood. The dreadfully powerful vibrations knocked over trees and destroyed already decrepit structures. By the time it was over, everything was in ruins. Most of the still standing plants and structures collapsed due to the aftershocks.

And yet, for some reason, not a single beast died that day.

**The End.**


	3. Ice Sheet

**For those of you who're interested, I've been having a lot of oneshot ideas lately. So there'll probably be fairly frequent updates. I now present you with my fifth oneshot.**

**Ice Sheet**

A cyan pikmin walked across a layer of ice with his head down. Letting out a sigh, he looked around as his whiskers swayed in the cold breeze. There was nothing to see but more ice in the horizon. This didn't surprise him, yet at the same time, he was so disappointed. This was day three of him wandering across the sheet of ice (on a sea, of course). It was cold, very cold. But this was no problem for him. He was actually in his element, as cyan pikmin have the ability to survive freezing temperatures. Not only that, but they also possess a natural anti-freeze. So why was he upset?

He was so lonely, and bored. The only company he had were the icy white footprints that cyan pikmin leave behind wherever they walk.

He would definitely be careful to never miss his onion again.

The pikmin started skating his way across in order to maximize his distance. He had no idea when the ice would eventually melt, and if that were to happen, he would suffer a watery grave. Sure, there's the option of turning back, but... I'd say it's too late. Three days of walking is a long distance to reverse. The ice was already growing thin anyway.

He continued skating for at least half an hour, until he decided to just stop moving his legs and take a break. He slid across the ice a little before coming to a complete stop. He started calling for other pikmin, to the point where his echoes began to fill the surrounding area. There was obviously no response, but he continued. The sound was not only reaching through the air, but also underwater.

After a long period of shouting he stopped and stood up. Without even waiting a few seconds, he started skating again. And from behind him, a silhouette from beneath the ice followed his lead.

The pikmin fell flat on his face and slid speedily across the ice as something broke through the frozen surface right beneath him. He looked back and saw something rearing out of the new hole. It grunted, then re-submerged itself. The cyan hurriedly got to his feet and started skating as fast as he could make himself go. He eyes scanned the ice around him, searching for the creature. He soon spotted it, but it was directly in front of him.

He tried to brake, only to fall on his back. The beast came smashing through the ice and snapped at him. As the cyan crawled backwards in panic, the monster came crawling out of the ice ever so slowly, until it was completely out.

The creature was grey skinned with a caramel brown mark (which looked like an ink blot) on the center of its back. About the height of a grey wollywog, the width of a yellow wollywog, and the length of a cannon beetle larva(including the tail), this thing was small by predator standards. Its body was shaped like a seal's(but only from a bird's eye view, as in reality, it wasn't blubbery), with long, powerful dolphin-like flippers (one on both sides). It also possessed a whale-like tail, but with not cut in the center. And finally, its head was shaped like that of an orca, but with a slightly more stretched snout, full of teeth. On the sides of its head were its yellow-with-black-goat-pupil eyes.

The cyan got to his feet and started running away from the creature. Meanwhile, the creature itself forced its way back into the hole it made in the surface and immersed itself once again. With startling precision, it snaked its way below the sheet and shattered the section of ice, right where the cyan was. The pikmin fell through and felt the creature's back slide against its own back as the predator made a slick and small breech, followed by the cyan splashing into the water. He flailed in a frenzied fashion before managing to grasp the ice (it was now clear to him just how thin the ice was as it only reached his eyes while he was drowning). He took a quick glance down and saw the creature swimming upwards; right for him! Refusing to relent, the pikmin hauled himself up onto the ice, landing on his side in the process. The creature came flying out of the hole a second later. The cyan watched as he came crashing down... _next _to the hole. A few bits of ice flew around as it face planted right into the sheet.

The cyan took his chance to flee while the creature meekly pushed its face out of the ice. Its prey having escaped, it slowly pushed itself across the ice with its flippers until it slid into the hole and sunk below the still water.

_Several days later._

The pikmin was still covering distance, but this time without moving. Some of the ice had cracked and he found himself stuck on a floating, pikmin scale iceberg. With him was an Icy Blowhog, who would sometimes blow freezing vapor at him non-stop until it eventually got tired.

Both of them were sleeping when the iceberg eventually bumped into something. It was a snow covered island. Luckily, the bump was powerful enough to wake up its passengers, which immediately jumped ship after seeing what had happened.

While the Icy Blowhog wandered off, giving off a pig-like sound effect with every step, the cyan went straight for the nearest Pellet Posie. He started attacking it, but never took it down. He had stopped when strange pikmin approached him.

They were covered in white hair, but the only bare parts being their hands, feet and eyes. By looking at their hands and/or feet, their skin color seemed to be grey. But these were nothing like the grey pikmin he had actually seen before.

The hair-covered pikmin encircled and picked him up. The cyan was very confused, but he didn't struggle.

After moving through a small forest, around a frozen pond, and past a boulder, the hair-covered pikmin put him down. The cyan looked back at them but received no response other than stem waving and jumping.

He turned around and saw the Cyan Onion.

_**Fin**_


	4. Rocky Waters

**One of my more violent stories. The sky was full of clouds at the time of the following, darkening the area.**

**The Rocky Waters**

There are many seas on the Distant Planet. For example, we have some very deep waters with numerous, disconnected rocks breaking the surface. It essentially creates its own small scale archipelago effect. The average "rock island" was only about as large as the bumps in the waterhole of the Valley of Repose, where the Fiery Bulblax slumbers. And of course, there's plenty of smaller ones in the mix.

A colony of Blue Pikmin lived along these rocks. Nobody is sure how they got there, but they did their best to survive over the constantly churning waters. Every day, they were forced to hop from rock to rock in order to avoid the dangerous Rock Crawlers; crazy, aggressive, and dangerous ten-legged carnivores. Jumping and crawling with incredible agility, the dwarf bulborb-sized beasts form the nightmares of all rock dwellers. The blue pikmin have only managed to kill a few of them using swarm tactics, before others would show up and force them away in violent and often messy confrontations.

Their tooth lined, crocodile-like jaws and claw tipped legs are more than a match for a mere pikmin. And they tend to attack in groups. And heck, the pikmin can't even eat them; their grey shells aren't penetrable by such simple and toothless mouths. They are kind of funny looking though, considering that their jaws and head take up half of their body while the other half is the abdomen (note that none of these parts are seperated in any way).

Though both species are very capable of breathing underwater, neither of them can simply jump into the ocean. They always have to jump from rock to rock. Why? Well, unless you enjoy being gnawed on by Ultravores, it's good to stay out of the liquid.

With the Cannon Beetle Larva-sized Ultravores mentioned, the Rock Crawlers weren't the only things the blues had to worry about. There was also the killer Sea Serpents that would jump out of the water to attack prey.

But this would all eventually come to a climax.

Though the blues had been planning this for awhile, it wasn't until now that they would put it into action. They were going to escape the waters once and for all. But how? The answer was actually much simpler than most folk would think. They were going to use one of the drift-logs to escape.

Nobody wanted to do it at first, for fear that the plan might go awry. But over a week ago, a drift-log had arrived and gotten stuck between two rocks, until they just couldn't ignore it any longer.

Their simple plan was to go to the log, dislodge it, and make their escape. But there was only one issue; the log was far away from them at the time that they finally decided to go for it.

There were only two options the way they saw it; die or die trying to escape. Their decision should be obvious.

Hop hop, jump jump. The pikmin leapt from rock to rock as the waters swished. And so far, no sign of danger. Things were going very well. So well, that it was unusual. The pikmin picked up their pace across the bare rocks. They could actually see the log in the distance now. And still, no sign of Rock Crawlers. This must've been their lucky day!

Yeah, right.

A Rock Crawler emerged from behind an unusually large rock, giving off a high pitched growling noise as it clung to the side. After a moment of hesitation, it jumped off and started leaping straight for the pikmin! They tried to escape, but more Crawlers were popping up from all directions, all from behind large rocks. It was now seven Crawlers to thirty pikmin.

The pikmin didn't break and continued to make their way towards the log. A Crawler made its first strike by jumping through the air and catching a pikmin in in mid-jump. The pikmin shrieked before it was bitten in half. The violence continued when another one jumped in front of the group, between them and the log. And yet another one swooped in and landed right on a lone pikmin, chewing it down and then licking the blood off its mouth.

The entire world seemed to suddenly be spinning as all of the Crawlers jumped and ran around at incredible speeds, biting or otherwise clawing at pikmin. The choas escalated in mere seconds. The prey either attempted to get away or fought back, trying to win against the terrible beasts _just this once. _Meanwhile, splashes filled the air as Ultravores thrashed about in the waters around and between the rocks where the conflict was occuring, anticipating their next meal.

A Crawler seemed to fall out of the sky upon some blue pikmin on a rock; about seven. It screeched before trying to attack, but its jaws met nothing as the pikmin crawled under it and attacked from behind. It tried to counter by spinning, but the blues kept circling the killer, randomly delivering blows. Enraged, the Crawler circled in midair and lunged with incredible force at a pikmin, shaving its leg off. As the pikmin screamed and clutched its injury, another one tackled to Crawler, causing it to fall into the water. Loud cries echoed as several Ultravores quickly overwhelmed the smaller predator, dragging it underwater as blood clouded the water, followed by body parts floating to the surface.

Death soon became a trend. A Crawler landed on a rock in pursuit of one pikmin. It missed its target and ended up sliding a little, knocking the pikmin into the water. There was a small splash and it never resurfaced. A Rock Crawler wiggled its legs, yiping as it stayed pinned to a rock next to a bleeding pikmin stem and a bunch of petals. A group of blues had shoved a sharp rock fragment right through it, thick blood still gushing out of the wound. Another Crawler, this one missing two legs, had just finished off three attacking pikmin and was ripping off the stem of another. There were even a few pikmin that attempted to swim away but were quickly picked off, or were forced to return to the rocks.

A mutilated Ultravore went pinwheeling through the air above the battle as a Sea Serpent 9snagret size) came rearing out of the water, giving off a huge gutteral roar. It grabbed to nearest Crawler and ate it, with a huge crunching sound effect followed by the Crawler's head falling onto a rock, which actually snapped at a nearby blue a few times before dying.

The pikmin that had actually managed to live (10) were headed for the now very close log, with the Crawlers still in pursuit along with the threat of the Serpent. When they did make it, they didn't hesistate to push the log that was twice the size of Olimar's ship(the trashy one). It was easily dislodged and they hopped on.

A Rock Crawler had also decided to jump on, unfortunately. The pikmin couldn't run this time, so they went on a full frontal assualt. Three more pikmin were dead by the time the Crawler succumbed and fell into the water, making a nice treat or the Ultravores. They heard a weird cracking noise after that, but when they investigated, they saw nothing but a section of bark that was partially detached, so they ignored it.

Watching the Rock Crawlers retreat in failure, the pikmin were safe. Or at least they though they were until the log started to spin. Shivering, they held on the the wood as _two_ Sea Serpents reared up, eyeing the pikmin. Though the serpents were big, they couldn't simply destroy the log as they were on a Snagret scale. One of the green, fin eared serpents pushed agasint one end of the log while the other resubmerged. The first Serpent abruptly stopped seconds before the second smashed into the raft. Five of the pikmin held on, but one simply fell off while another was sent flying into the air. The former was caught by a Serpent and swallowed whole.

The underwater pikmin looked around and saw one of the Serpents swimming down in its direction. Letting out a shout, he started to swim straight down. He flailed his feet and arms, gaining momentum. He had to struggle to come to a stop when he saw something coming out of the shadows. He just barely got out of the way as the Serpent darted upwards and snapped at him, instead catching him on its ear fin. When the beast surfaced, he was sent flying over the log and into the water. The blue's head popped out seconds later, looking around before spotting the raft. He started moving but the second Serpent attacked him, again missing with its jaws and causing him to get flung through the air by the top of its head.

His weird inability to get eaten had now gotten the full attention of both Serpents. As the blue plummeted towards the log, both of them dove into the water, then jumped out at the same time to catch him before he landed.

He was missed by a hair and the Serpents slammed right into each other, followed by them landing on top of the log. Their was a huge capsize and all of the pikmin fell into the water as the two stunned animals sunk below the surface. Out of five pikmin, only four of them resurfaced and got back onto the log. It floated away and there were no problems for the rest of the day.

The pikmin were all fast asleep by the time the sun rose the next morning. One of them was inside the log; the others were on top. Several tired Bouygulls landed on it, cawing while the pikmin still slept. A sure sign that they were close to land. Several minutes later, a Peliburn landed on the log, scaring the Bouygulls away in the process. It eyed the sleeping pikmin.

_Half an hour later_

The blue pikmin on the inside of the log woke up, yawning and stretching. He didn't remember where he was for a few seconds, before recalling. He smiled once he heard the calls of the Bouygulls; they were close to land. He climbed to the top to check on his friends, but he reached it, nobody was there.

...

The blue was busily swimming through the ocean, his head leaving a trail across the surface as he made his way to the beach. It was long and tiresome, but before he knew it, he was taking his first steps on the sand. Dripping wet, he looked back at the log as it floated there in the sea. Sighing, he looked away and walked in the direction of a grassy field.

...

Over an hour later, the log washed up on shore. Every now and then, it would give off a creak.

The creak's frequency changed from "every now and then" to "almost every few seconds". Something was happening with the log.

A loud crack pierced the air as some creature ripped off the piece of bark that wasn't fully connected and, at the same time, sheilding it. Confused and disoriented, it hung off the log by one leg before letting go and landing in the sand. Moving all ten of its legs, it got to its feet. Whiel opening and closing its jaws, the beast stood there as the sand fell off, revealing its huge jaws and grey shell...

**_Fin_**

**I borrowed the Peliburn from Wateryoshi of Gametalk.**


	5. The Bounds of Reality

**Note that in this story, the pikmin are about a foot tall, and of course that means it takes place in the real world.  
**

**Author notes removed since it turns out that they're against the rules. So here's your reminder; flower peach pikmin can reproduce asexually Also, the "Beastiary" chapter was removed too since it's just a list, also against the ToS. If you don't know about one of my enemies ahead of time, a PM ought to be in order.**

...

A light breeze blew across the dry valley. It was early in the morning. Very early in the morning, as the sun was just barely rising over the horizon. Most of the small plants swayed slightly as a rabbit grazed in a man made clearing on a hill that was mostly covered in bushes, some thicker than others. This clearing, among other places on the hill, was flat, rather than sloped. And this very one was full of fresh, green grass. A small flock of robins noisily flew by, and the rabbit momentarily paused, looked around, then resumed.

A small rustling in the bordering bushes could easily be heard as a small group moved through it. The rabbit's ears shot up and it briefly stared in the direction of the noise, before scurrying off.

A group of peach colored pikmin (five) wandered into the open field towards a small tree. Upon reaching it, one of them stumbled clumsily to its base and climbed up. The two day old pikmin soon came back down with fist-fulls of berries. Another pikmin confronted him.

"Taish, you were supposed to shake the branches. That way, the berries will fall down and it will save everyone else the trouble of having to go up the tree."

Obediently, "Taish" climbed back up into the tree and proceeded to shake the branches one by one. Berries rained down and the pikmin proceeded to feed.

The pikmin that commanded him to do this was Taish's brother, Poils, who was two weeks old as opposed to two days.

"Now remember guys, we can't spend too much time out in the open like this. You never know when danger abounds," said one of the other three pikmin.

"Danger? Like what?" Taish inquired, curiously. Everyone except for Poils responded by giving him a strange glare. Poils lashed out in his defense.

"Oh come on you guys, don't look at him like that! He's only two days old!"

There was a small yet very noticeable hint of anger in his voice.

"Taish, come un' over here a second," asked the very pikmin that advised them not to stay in the clearing for long. Taish walked up to him as Poils sat down. The other two pikmin continued with breakfast. A crow then flew overhead, cawing, which distracted Taish for a few seconds before he spoke.

"So what are the dangers, Bluey?"

"Stop calling me Bluey. My name is Noy. And I'm not even a blue pikmin!" You could hear the slight annoyance in his voice.

"So how's about his question, 'Noy'?" Poils asked, laughing to himself.

"Alright. I don't know what twist of fate allowed you to live two whole days without learning about the dangers here first hand, but I'm going to fill you in the easy way."

Taish nodded.

"First, the coyotes. They have slender legs, bushy tails, pointed ears, and long snouts with sharp teeth. And they're furry. They like to howl, bark and yodel. They're most active at night, so don't ever go off wanderin' off after the sun is down, okay?"

Taish nodded.

"The second one is the most dangerous. Humans. You'll know them when you see them because they look like us, but are hairier and have unnatural looking coats. They wield these... stick... things that can kill creatures like us from a distance. They launch these unseen projectiles with a bang, that go so fast that they usually hit something less than a second after said bang. Stay as far away as you can from these guys."

Taish didn't nod this time. Though he didn't show it, the very concept of something like that scared him deeply. A flock of sparrows flew by and landed nearby, then started pecking at insects within the grass, but he paid no attention to them.

"Oh yeah, one more thing!"

It wasn't Noy who had said this, it was Poils.

"If you hear a rattling noise, stay away from the source. The beast that makes it won't trouble you so long as you don't trouble it."

Noy took over again.

"So remember to always stay alert. It's always one or more unsuspecting pikmin in an open place, eating or something."

A feral cat slunk out of the brush and into the clearing.

"But then you're spotted by a predator, but you're too busy lolly-gagging to even notice!"

The cat perked up as it noticed the small birds. They continued to prowl the ground for insects.

"The danger grows, and grows, and grows! Soon, you're in deep, deep trouble!"

The cat lowered to the ground and started stalking towards the birds.

"But you still aren't paying enough attention!"

Taish's eyes widened and the cat grew closer to the flock.

"Then, when you finally notice, it's already too late. Someone is already doomed."

Every pikmin shot up in alarm as several sparrows suddenly darted by. They looked in the other direction and saw the tortoise-shell, holding a bird in its mouth.

"Like that", Poils remarked with a smirk on his face. Taish started to shiver, and Poils was quick to notice.

"Don't worry, cats aren't normally a threat to us."

Nobody said anything else and they all went back to consuming berries. The light from the sun was crawling closer and closer to them.

Noy was a month and a half old, so he had a lot of experiece. He was also pretty long lived, for a pikmin that is. Pikmin are generally considered lucky if they live to see the end of a season more than once. Not because they have a short life span or anything, but because of heavy predation. Noy had a flower on his head, Poils had a bud in mid-bloom, Taish had a leaf, and the other two had buds.

The period of silence carried on as the light of the sun completely filled the area. And of course, this period eventually came to an end.

"Guys, head back to the nest," Poils commanded, sounding worried.

"What's wrong?" asked one of the unnamed pikmin.

"Humans. They're coming. I can see them through the trees at the other end of the clearing. They're coming up the hill. Quick, go!"

The two buds and Noy didn't hesitate to take off. Poils started to run, but stopped when he realized that Taish wasn't with them. He looked back and saw his brother staring in the direction of the supposed humans.

"Come on Taish, let's go!" he screamed out, with fear in his tone. Taish spun around sped off along with his brother towards the brush, which rustled loudly as they all entered it. You could visibly see the bushes move wherever they went, event though you couldn't clearly see the pikmin themselves. The plants were actually thicker in some places than they were in others.

The brush started on one of the hill's slopes, which they were running up. This eventually lead to another one of the hill's flat areas, though it was still covered in bushes. This area completely encircled the hill and had another slope right behind it, which lead to the summit. Basically, this "flat section" was at a higher point then any of the others. Their nest was a burrow at the base of said slope, hidden by the mass thicket that, again, took up most of the hill. It was long enough so that a potential threat that could just barely squeeze through, like say, an appropriately sized dog, wouldn't be an issue once they were deep enough inside.

Once they reached it, they all crawled through the tunnel and settled in the chamber at the end, which functioned as their bed. It had a bunch of leaves and stray newspapers matted at the floor.

"That, Taish, is what it feels like to run from danger!" exclaimed Noy, laughing a little.

They didn't do much for quite some time. In fact, each one of them fell asleep at least once. At one point, Noy asked one of the unnamed pikmin to see if all was clear. He went higher up the hill and looked upon the field as Poils waited for him just outside the burrow. It was full of what he was sure were rabbits, which means there couldn't have been any humans anymore. However, he also noticed that there were a bunch of squirrels getting into the trees. He went back into the burrow to report.

"Uh, bad news, fellows. The squirrels have beaten us to the berries. By the time we get there, they'll all be gone."

"Well, it takes a few days for them to grow back, and there are other clearings. We'll just have to find another one," proclaimed Noy. "Maybe we'll run into some of the other pikmin that live around these parts along the way."

"Can it wait until tommorrow?" asked Poils.

"Why?" he asked in a "what the heck" manner.

"Yeah, you see, we were asleep longer than we thought. The sun will be going down sometime soon, and I don't want to be dragged all the way across the wide hill just to have to go right back due to nightfall. I don't think it'll kill us if we wait, anyway", pointed out the pikmin Poils had sent to check the clearing. He uttered that last sentence in a mildy sarcastic way.

So they remained in the burrow. It was soon sundown, and it was only a matter of time until everyone was fast asleep. Except for Taish, who was totally awake. He just had his eyes closed. Time continued to pass as clouds moved through the night sky.

Just as he was finally falling into slumber, Taish's eyes opened to a noisy rumbling in bushes. Not very close, but not very far. He started to get up to investigate, but he remembered what Noy had told him about wandering off at night. So he stayed put.

The noises continued and Taish pushed his head against the "wall", to try and hear what was going on. The noise wasn't anchored in one place; it was moving in unspecified directions. He really wanted to look, but he also knew that it was considered very dangerous at night.

The final straw was when he heard a small snarl followed by what he was absolutely sure was a pikmin squeak. He couldn't control his great curiousity. So he decided to make a compromise with himself. He would try to see what was going on, but not go any more than a few steps away from the burrow. Excited, he got to feet and walked through the tunnel and outside, then climbed halfway up one of the small trees nearby. What he saw horrified him.

In front of the shining moon was the silhouette of a coyote holding a mangled pikmin by the throat.

Taish didn't take another second to look at the morbid scene and jumped right off the tree, landing in a bush, then scampered back into the burrow. He apparently made a bit of a ruckus on the way in, because Poils woke up.

"Taish, what are you doing?"

"Nothing, I just had a nightmare..."

Less than ten minutes later, they were both sleeping soundly.

...

Poils dreamed about the day Taish was born. It was like a flashback... only not a conscious one.

__

Poils stared at his parent's flower as it finally released the seed that had been developing inside of it. Once it hit the ground, his parent proceeded to bury it.

__

"That's your brother," he said.

"What are we going to call him?" Poils asked with a smirk on his face.

"I'm not sure. Perhaps Tork."

"Maybe we should name him Celtic?"

"No no, that's a green pikmin name. I know, we'll name him Taish."

"Sounds fine by me."

"We'll be able to meet him once he's done growing. That'll be by tommorrow. By the way, looks like someone's bud is going to bloom soon."

"Who, mine?"

"Yes, yours.

Poils tilted his stem down and looked at his bud. It was slightly open, as opposed to tightly shut as it had been before.

"Come Poils, let's head to the clearing."

The two left from their position down to the field. Noy and two other pikmin were already down there. Once they got there, Poils ran up to the nearest tree, climbed it, and shook some of the branches, knocking the berries down.

Noy and the two others walked up to the unfamiliar duo.

"Why, hello", said Noy, trying to put on a good impression, "I don't believe we've met before. You've been living here awhile?"

"If you mean this specific hill, then yes. Just over two weeks", replied Poils' parent.

"Yeah, we're new here", stated one of the unnamed pikmin.

"We moved to this spot in the valley earlier this morning due to various food issues", finished the other unnamed pikmin.

"Well, it's nice that we have some neighbors now."

Poils and his parent were back in the den by the end of the day. But before either of them fell asleep...

"Poils, I need to have a talk with you."

His mood seemed sad, yet at the same time, very cheerful.

"Yes?"

"As Peach Pikmin, we can procreate a lot. Much more than any other pikmin species. Some members of our group reproduce more than others. Point is, there's a lot of us. And we all need food."

"Yeah, that's kind of the problem. Stuff that us pikmin can eat isn't that abundant around here. That's why those three moved in here."

"Yes, it's about food. This hill should be able to sustain all of us. But the more of us there are, the closer we come to depleting the resources. Worst case scenario, we are competitively excluded, emmigrate, are still excluded, then starve. I don't want to put you or Taish at risk."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm going to move away to help reduce the competition here."

Poils nearly gaped when he said that.

"But I.. you..."

"Every pikmin counts. One less pikmin means one less being draining from the resources here."

"No... you can't just..."

Poils stopped talking when he looked into the eyes of his parent.

"...I understand."

"Promise me you'll always protect Taish."

"I promise- wait, aren't you going to stay and pluck him first?"

"I can't do that. It'd be too sad. It might even make me change my mind about leaving, which would affect all of us negatively."

That was the abrupt outcome of the day.

The night went on as Poils' parent hung around as his son drifted off to sleep. Poils woke up minutes before dawn, but when he looked around, his parent was gone. He walked out of the burrow and over to Taish, who had finished growing. Poils gazed at the wiggling stem for a few minutes before clutching it.

"I'll protect him, alright..."

With those words, he yanked Taish out of the ground. The newly plucked pikmin shook his head a little and stared at his brother.

"Hello, Taish."

"... ... ... Hello?" mumbled Taish, meekly.

Poils spent the next two days teaching his brother whatever lesson came up at the time. Miraculously, nothing bad happened these days. At the evening of day two, Noy and his two friends showed up at the brothers' burrow, asking if they could live there with them, since their own attempts at making nests proved bad and that they're facing continuous pangs of fear due to the sounds of coyotes. Poils agreed.

...

Noy was the first to wake up that morning, and he proceeded to awake the other four. Taish was now officially three days old, and Noy was eager to get them to search for a new feeding spot, while it was still early morning. The pikmin in the valley were mainly crepuscular since those were the times when their enemies were (collectively) the least active.

He managed to gather the almost grumpy pikmin for the search they were going to conduct. He was really trying to rush them, as they had already started within three minutes of awakening. Nobody said much as they wandered around the side of the hill, through the thicket.

"Poils, your bud!" shouted Taish in wonderment.

"What about it?"

"It bloomed!"

Poils didn't even notice until it was pointed out to him. He lowered his stem and saw a fully bloomed flower. Yet another grin (or smirk, whatever you want to call it) formed on his face.

"That it did."

Poils did a great job at masking his emotions, with only subtle clues at how he's feeling ever slipping out most of the time. He spent the next few minutes wondering why nobody else had told him. Maybe it was because they were used to such a thing. Simply having a leaf or bud doesn't necessarily mean the pikmin is young. If something happens that results in the damage of the flower, it will be shed and replaced with a leaf, restarting the cycle.

Not another word was spoken for the next twelve minutes. A fog was slowly forming over the area. When they had woken up, it was just a light mist, but now it was starting to intensify.

Eventually, Poils started to complain.

"We've been wandering through bushes and over various elevations of this hill, and yet we've seen nothing that bears the promise of food so far. I mean really, why couldn't we have just gone to the summit in the first place? Clearly the view is better up there."

"Irony at its best", replied Noy. He sounded almost elated.

"Huh?"

"You start to complain, jus' now, at the exact second I spot a new flat clearing over there."

And he was right. A new clearing, one much larger than the last one, complete with some trees, was there. Numerous birds were pecking at the ground in various places, a sign that there were currently no threats. They couldn't see the very edge of it due to the fog, though.

"Now let's clear out to that clearing!"

Nobody laughed at that. Or even shook their heads for that matter. Just dead silence. Noy's attempt at getting some chuckles dropped like a duck that had been shot in mid flight.

"Forward..." muttered one of the unnamed pikmin in a disgusted sort of way.

Without any warning whatsoever, Taish took off into the grassy field. The other four, afraid they might lose the young pikmin, started after him. By the time they actually got there, Taish had been yanking big round fruit off of a shrub.

"Taish, you know it is generally not a good idea to just run off like that", scolded his brother. "By the way, has anyone else noticed this fog?"

The fog was even denser than it was before they'd come down. Too the point where they couldn't see more than a short distance in front of them. This lack of visibility shook some of them with an irritating sense of vulnerability.

"I'll take this as a good thing", said one of the budded pikmin. "Afterall, if we can't see any possible enemies, what's there to say they can't see us?"

"Hey, does anyone smell honey?" asked Noy, curiously. He then said, "I think I smell the products of a beehive, yet I see no beehive."

"Looks like your nose is your eyes this time", said Poils, half-joking.

"Alright, enough chat. Look at this ripe, bulbous fruit! We might have to come back sometime soon!"

The fruit was just as tasty as it looked. And it was meaty. Pikmin don't have teeth, so they don't normally consume anything that they can't swallow whole or can easily break on the inside of their mouths. This is why their diet is limited to very soft fruit and botanical fluids (like nectar). The pikmin ate heartily in the midst of the cloak of low visibility. The air was filled with the calls of avians. Grasshoppers, crickets and other insects hastily moved around to get away from the predatory birds. A field mouse crawled along the side of a tree, twitching its nose, before leaping forward to make way for three cottontail rabbits. Above them, inside the bark, was a beehive, with workers buzzing in and out. A fox squirrel and a canyon squirrel rustled through the thicket, chasing each other over a discarded loaf of bread. Finally, a doe entered this Garden on Eden, nearly stepping on a king snake in the process, scaring it into a bush. The doe itself didn't come from the bushes that dominated the higher parts of the hill, but the trees that grew on most parts of the base. Past that point was a street.

Poils lifted his head and looked in the direction of the clearing's edge, which he still couldn't see.

"Does anyone else hear that?"

"Hear what, Poils?"

"Some kind of sniffing noise."

The other four listened and now they heard it too. It was close, yet too far for them to actually see it through the fog. This small mystery had them all debating over their next choice of action.

Following his instincts, Noy slowly stepped forward to investigate, and so did the two budded pikmin. Poils and Taish stayed back, wary of what was going on, and watched the trio until they disappeared into the fog itself.

...

Moments later they came sprinting back.

"Both of you, run for the thicket!" exclaimed Noy in an extremely fearful manner.

"What!?"

"Just do it!! Run, run, now!!"

"Aight Taish, let's go!"

Poils took off and Taish followed, with the other three right behind them. In tow was a fox, gaining on the plant-animals.

"Come guys, kick it into high gear! It's going to catch us!" Poils shouted this in desperation. Taish strained to keep up with him. He wouldn't reach full speed until he grew a flower, but he had to force himself to prevent being left behind. Noy stayed right behind him, making sure he wouldn't trip or something, while the two buds tried to go faster than Noy. One of the best ways to avoid getting caught is to try and outrun everyone else. That's the strategy that most pikmin use when running in groups, which forces everyone to push themselves more and more. The fox continued to chase them relentlessly, eager for some pikmin pie.

Entire flocks of birds took off and the sky was filled with fluttering as the array of avians zoomed by. The field mouse scurried under a fallen tree as the rabbits darted into the thicket and up the slope. The doe looked in all directions, puzzled, before jogging away.

"He's catching up to us! We're almost to the thicket, so make it work! Do it for your life!" Poils' pupils shrank as he screamed this. The fox was now almost upon them, snapping only inches behind the pikmin. Taish became more and more terrified by the moment. He was falling behind Noy now.

The snarls of an aggressive fox echoed through the valley as some pikmin dove into the thicket. A few specks of blood flew through the air and dotted the grass right behind the mass of bushes.

...

The pikmin continued to sprint up the hill, their adrenaline pumping. Knowing that their burrow was still a while's away, and that the fox had stopped following them, they all stopped, some of them even collapsing. Taish was one of those lying on the ground.

"I was scared that I was going to lose you", muttered Poils, with a smirk of relief.

"That was very odd. Foxes don't normally come this far north..." mumbled one of the budded pikmin, though nobody knew how he knew that.

"Well, the good news is that ev'ryone's here, so let's ju-... wait..."

"What is it, Noy?"

Noy did a head count. He did it two more times to make sure he wasn't wrong.

"One of us is missing!"

There were a few small gasps as the pikmin turn around to look back the way they came. There was no sign of the budded pikmin that was gone. Nothing but silence as a sudden gust of wind passed them.

"...Poor guy..." muttered the other budded pikmin. He closed his eyes and silently turned away. Poils and Noy followed without a word. Taish stayed, continuing to stare down at the field. The fog was clearing now.

"You coming, Taish?"

Taish turned around and looked at his brother.

"Yes, Poils..."

He quietly walked away with his brethren, back to their nest. Nobody would come outside again until the next day.

...

When they woke up, the sun was already in the sky, but it was anything but a sunny day. The sky was full of dark clouds as a moderately strong wind greeted anyone outside. It was an overcast.

The pikmin spent the morning discussing about a new strategy that Noy had thought of the night before.

"So this is what I was thinking. It's hard to easily determine the best spots for feeding. So I figured we'd all disperse. I'll take the regular clearing, Poils will take the same one as yesterday, and Anonymous here will go to the summit and see if he can find a new one."

"But how exactly will this work?"

"It's simple. We'll meet back here and report about the amount of food and other factors. Then we'll take the one with the most favorable settings, and that will be the one we'll go to a lot. This should greatly increase our chances for survival."

With no objections, each one of them save for Taish moved on to their assigned positions. Poils told him on the way out that he would bring back some food for him to eat. He had been left out of this for reasons even he was aware of. He was only a "leafling". The pikmin with the lowest physical capabilities. They couldn't risk letting him go alone. Sure, he could've accompanied any single pikmin, but it was figured that all would be better if he just remained in the safety of the nest.

Taish was nervous. Very nervous. His two witnessings of death were very brutal ones, and every second he went without knowing how his fellow pikmin were drove him more and more crazy. Especially Poils. He cared about his sibling more than anyone. He wanted to go after him so bad, but he heeded the intentions of his "elders".

He decided to just step outside to see what it was like. As mentioned before, the sky was full of dark clouds and the wind continued to blow. Now that he was outside, he had to fight even harder with himself to stop from going into the field. He tried to put off his desires by counting to ten. He didn't even make it to five. He was really, really nervous, and that conflicted with his common sense. What was he to do? Right when he was about to burst into his choice of action, his attention was gripped by something in the corner of his eye.

A big black ant crawled to the top of a large rock, visible through the plants. It was quite the huge stone for an insect, but it climbed the whole way. Taish had focused all of his attention on it. Soon, the invertebrate reached the top. Whether it knew about it or not was unknown to the pikmin, but the ant grabbed a dead beetle, smaller than it, that had been sitting there. It then reversed its course. Taish knew that it was probably going to bring the meal back to share with its brethren or anything along those lines.

Going out for food and bringing it back for those you care about.

Taish's brief mesmerization shattered like a glass next to a blasting stereo when a lizard scooted to the top of the rock, spotted the ant, and hastily devoured it. The insect had just been killed in the midst of his quest.

The nervousness quickly returned back to the pikmin, and now, it was even worse than before. He very slowly moved back underground, but only so much so that he was under the surface but could still see the sky. Even his leaf was quivering now. How long was this going to take anyway? It had probably only been ten minutes or so, but it felt like hours for him. His stomach felt like thousands and thousands of butterflies were having sugar rushes on the inside of it.

The time crawled on, and Taish's anxiety didn't improve. He tried to comfort himself by assuming that after this amount of time, they must all be on their way back. But how far away were they? Were they lingering? Were they distracted? Did they all meet _before _they got to the actual burrow and talk about the results on spot? All these questions orbited around his brain, and he didn't like it. A blue jay flew by, and he hoped that it had been scared into the air by an appoaching pikmin. But he waited twenty seconds and still, nothing.

Bang!

Taish literally hit the ceiling when he heard a bang ring out and echo into the air. He quaked furiously, as he remembered what Noy had told him back when he was two days old. He started to pant, but not because it was hot.

Seconds turned into minutes. Time seemed to be moving in slow motion. He wanted to scream, but he knew that that wouldn't help. Cold drops plummeted to the ground as it began to drizzle.

At long last, he looked on to the sounds of rustling as a pikmin came back to the nest.

"Hello? Who's there?"

"It's me!"

It wasn't Poils, it was the anonymous pikmin.

"Is anyone else in the burrow?"

"No, I-"

"Then where could Noy and Poils possibly be? I heard a gunshot!"

That was it. No more sitting around. Taish ran out of the burrow, knocking over the other pikmin in the process, and raced through the bushes and right in the direction he thought the previous day's spot was. He ran, ran like he'd never run before. The seconds inched by, and the faster he went, the farther away it felt. He made his legs carry him faster and faster. Finally, he could see the field. He cheetah'd his way down the slope only to come to an abrupt stop once he was out of the not-too-thick thicket.

He looked around, but didn't see any sign of anyone. He took a few steps forward. He wanted to call for him, but he knew that by doing so, he may attract some unwanted attention. So he continued to take a few steps at a time, looking around the eerily noise-less place. His skin was wet, and water was collecting on his leaf. But he didn't care. That was the least of his concerns.

His eyes then came across something. And his heart jumped when he saw it. He took two more steps forward. A short distance in front of him was a pikmin lying on the ground. Water ran down its slumped flower as blood leaked from a penetration in its head. The precipitation caused the internal juices to spread, forming a pool of blood around the lifeless body.

There was no mistaking it. Poils had been shot.

Taish didn't speak. He didn't make a face. He didn't even move forward or backward. His stem just drooped forward. A droplet of liquid rolled down his cheek and landed in front of his foot, but it wasn't the rain.

"Your brother has saved you from harm once again."

Taish turned around. It was Noy, standing right behind him. He stood right up with a straight face, despite what had happened.

"Come. I wanted you to be a part of the plan, but I knew Poils would object, so I left you in the burrow. That contributed to his death. Would be a darn shame if an enemy caught you out here by yourself and you ended up dead too."

Noy turned away and walked towards the thicket. Taish weakly followed him, still not speaking. He then stopped and looked back one last time at Poils' corpse. He looked forward again and saw Noy waiting on him. Once he started walking again, he perked up his stem and listened for any signs of danger.

Fin

**(This story was originally going to be called "Equal to a Rabbit", because there was originally a part where a rabbit strays into the burrow, before Poils gets shot (so only Taish in inside). This was meant to be a pivotal part of the story since Taish learns from the rabbit that even the most innocent creatures are never safe from the cruelty of the world they live in. He and the rabbit are the exact same on those terms.)**

**(The ending was actually changed more than once before I started the writing process. The first ending had Taish and Poils alone in a thick fog for whatever reason. Poils detects someone approaching and runs away with Taish, just as they are shot at. Before they actually reach the thicket, they are shot at again. Halfway back to the nest, Poils realizing that Taish isn't with him, then goes back to find that he's dead. The second ending had the five pikmin scattered due to a sudden attack by hunters and their dogs. Noy and the two unnamed pikmin (yes, I originally wasn't going to kill one of them off) make a hastey escape. Poils starts to get away, but he looks back and sees Taish lagging behind. Knowing that the dogs will catch him, he goes back, grabs him, and throws him ahead. Taish makes it into the thicket while Poils narrowly avoids the pair of dogs. But his act of bravery takes up to much of his time, and a third one gets to the thicket before he does. Cut off from safety and with hounds approaching from behind, he runs across the field and down a slope, where he is shot. Unlike the previous version and the final, they don't go back to find his body. These endings, and a bunch of other parts in the story, were revamped.)**

**This is probably my most elaborate FF yet, because it uses quite a few literary elements. In case you didn't get something, here's a small guide.**

**-The cat killing one of the birds while the others escaped foreshadowed the whole fox incident.**

**-The squirrels beating them to the berries was meant to put an emphasis on the fact that the landscape wasn't very forgiving.**

**-Before the fox attack, the field is described as being full of various creatures, great and small. Everything seems perfect until a predator appears and leaves the place empty. The field as it was before the fox came represents the (incorrect) perceptions of the world that anyone naive to its horrors usually hold. The field after the fox represents what happens when such positive perceptions meet reality; they cease to exist. The field didn't look so serene after the animals were all scared off.**

**-Noy being able to detect honey without even being able to see it foreshadowed the fox incident even further; the pikmin believe they cannot be seen, but now we suspect that they are going to be found by a threat through means other than eyesight. The fox sniffed them out.**

**-The lizard killing the ant foreshadowed the death of Poils. Both of them were out to collect food for their brethren when they met their untimely deaths.**

**-When Noy said at the end that Poils had protected Taish, he was talking about the fact that Taish could've been shot himself if he had accompanied his sibling. And this did contribute to his death, just like he said. If Taish were there, his chances of being shot would've been split in half.**

**There's more literary elements, but all of them save for the ones above should be really obvious. Oh, and I might add another one of my prewritten chapters to the FF port of PWS tommorrow. Might need a reminder...**


	6. The Traveling Bulborb

A bulborb was slowly traveling through a forest. Red Bottles swooped at it, but it didn't retaliate the least bit. A few pikmin watched as it kept on moving, but the bulborb didn't attack them, nor did the pikmin run.

It kept traveling and traveling and traveling, never stopping at all. Sooner or later, it exited the forest and moved across a wasteland. Several Snaptores watched as the great beast went on, not paying attention to anything. Eventually, the bulborb passed a small gorge. By now the grub-dog was smelly, but it proceeded with its journey across the lands.

Clouds floated around the sky, insects buzzed, predators ate, plants grew, and pikmin worked. The bulborb didn't bug or even acknowledge a single one, while they payed attention to it.

After a long time, the bulborb arrived at the ocean and it stopped, not traveling anymore. It reached its destination. So what did it do?

Absolutely nothing. After all, it was only a carcass floating down a river.


	7. Hunt

**The Grass Bulborb oneshot has been delayed. Again. So I'm giving you guys this instead to hold ya'll over.**

**Hunt**

A marble brown pikmin, with a bizarre array of light patches covering him, crouched. He had a pair of protruding fangs, despite this his mouth was still indistinguishable.

He was staring at a juvenile blowhog that was alone in the clearing. Apparently, it had been separated from its parents, or worse. He got lower to the ground in preparation for what he was about to do. He held back his shorter-than-average bud which was tipped with a pale crimson leaf. The blowhog turned to the side, probing the ground for insects, and then...

The marble pikmin sprang out of the ferns and made a beeline for the blowhog. The hapless animal hardly had any time to react as the pikmin jumped on his back, using characteristic gripping feet to hold onto him. The blowhog fired a quick stream of flame from its snout, but it was futile as the attacker was on top of it. He dug his fangs into the animal's back, before it squealed and bucked, knocking him off. He landed perfectly on his feet and leapt into the air, narrowly missing the bleeding blowhog's second fire and reassuming his position on it. He used his fangs again to rip into the area right behind its head this time. The blowhog's snorts turned into high pitched screams as blood gushed out of the bite and across the pikmin's mouth, which he lapped up with his tongue along the way.

In a matter of seconds, the blowhog let out a final, withered moan before it collapsed, dead. The marble pikmin got off and gazed upon the fresh kill, grinning slightly. He bit into the carcass's side and ripped out a hunk of flesh.

"This taste's different than the last thing I killed. Spicier."

He muttered that as he chewed and swallowed.

"Too bad I'll have nobody to share it with. The other pikmin of my kind are dead in this area, and none of the other pikmin have teeth for ripping flesh."

He was about to start slurping the blood out of the neck wound he made, but the sounds of the death caught the attention of something nearby. A purple bulborb with a light purple face and pink spots lumbered into the clearing. It sniffed the air a few times before spotting the marble and his kill. The pikmin, immediately sensing the danger, fled to the cover of the plants. He looked back to see it scoop up the dead blowhog and swallow it whole. The marble was confused. He'd never seen a bulborb scavenge before.

"This one's different..." he said to himself as he wondered whether it would also take live food or not. He knew that if he guessed wrong, it'd cost him his life, so he left unsatisfied and still hungry.

**So... yeah. There's really nothing too special about this one, just felt like making it.**


	8. Cryptid

**Alright... it's official people. We're not seeing the GB story for awhile now. I accidentally deleted all my work, so I'm just going to resume with my oneshots as planned until further noticed. Heck, I might simply abandon it altogether; it wasn't working out the exact way I wanted it to.**

**Cryptid**

The warmth and comfort of the sun was gone. Instead, sad and lonesome clouds filled the sky, rendering the sky slightly darker than average. A group of red, blue, yellow and brown pikmin were wandering around near the base of a large tree. They numbered around fifty. They were looking for nectar, as they were all leaves and had already decimated the nearby Posies. One pikmin stumbled upon a Flint Beetle hiding in the grass; it scuttled away and they instinctively swarmed to it, ferociously striking at its carapace. The seemingly pointless ritual ran its course without interruption until the beetle burrowed into the ground. The pikmin lost interest as fast as they'd gained it and went back to work.

One curious specimen poked around into a gap in the trunk. Another pikmin, a blue, was already fast asleep under the cover of the space. Ignoring him, the first pikmin noticed a nearby hole. Hot air was welling up from it. Being a red pikmin, he hopped in.

Up the tree, another pikmin, this one a yellow, was working his way up to his destination. He'd been scaling for awhile now, and his mission was to explore the mysterious, wooden structure sitting up in the tree.

Curiosity can take you in a lot of directions.

The red pikmin plummeted through a small passageway before slipping into an open area. He hit the ground with a thud, a small cloud of dust forming around him. Getting to his feet, he looked around and saw nothing but a one way cave with roots creeping in from the side. The only source of light was some scattered glowcaps. The ground was soil, but the wall were bark. It was strange. He started walking through it, still sensing no obvious signs of nectar of eggs.

He didn't make it very far until he felt a series of tremors shaking the ground beneath him. Clumps of dirt flew into the air as Shearwigs erupted from the ground, opening and closing their mandibles as they wriggled their way out of their dirt coffins. The red, knowing right away that he'd be cornering himself if he turned back, charged forward and tried to force his way through the hungry, legless creatures. They lunged and snapped, like a biting, starving mass of wings and weird sounds, but he managed to avoid every last one. Exiting the clump, the Shearwigs weren't about to let him escape. It had obviously been while since they've eaten, given that Shearwigs are nocturnal.

He stopped running after he noticed an Orange Bulborb a short distance in front of him. Trying to keep his breathing down, he looked back the way he came and saw nothing but darkness. He sighed in relief, sure that he'd lost them.

Suddenly, the sound of wings beating traveled through the cavern. Shearwig after Shearwig came barreling out of the darkness, their wings carrying them with ease and straight for the red pikmin. Accompanying this was the sound of a deep exhale and some stomping; the Orange Bulborb was awake. A Shearwig landed in from of the red whilst the Bulborb came thundering down from its lair. There was no place to run.

Thinking fast, the red jumped to the side right when the Bulborb came looming upon it. The Shearwig turned to confront him, only to be scooped up and swallowed whole by the larger predator. Then, saving grace! The red noticed a tunnel in the side of the cave. He made his way to it with the Bulborb in hot pursuit, the Shearwigs having already retreated into the ground. Tripping on a root, he quickly got to his feet and stumbled to the tunnel, narrowly missing being smashed when the Grub-Dog tripped itself and crashed onto the ground, grunting.

Safe for the moment, the red traveled through the tunnel that seemed to lead up. When he reached the end, he was in the inside of a large wooden structure with a hole pouring light into one spot, and the yellow pikmin was in there too.

In the tree trunk, the blue had just woken up and was heading back outside to see what the other pikmin were doing.

They weren't there.

The blue speeded his way into the opening and looked around, but no trace of anyone? Where had they all gone?

Something else caught his attention. He listened closely and heard a strong flapping noise...

The last things he saw after that was a large pair of feet smashing into the ground, the impact strong enough to make him lose his footing. A horrible figure was upon him before he got a chance to blink and there was nothing but pure darkness in seconds.

The red and yellow up in the decrepit wooden structure looked around when they heard a loud flapping themselves. Their eyes shifted from wall to wall since they were unable to determine where it was coming from. Unexpectedly, the ray of light that was flowing in started to go dim.

Both pikmin looked up at the dark figure perched in the hole of the even larger structure. It extended what looked like wings and descended towards the two pikmin. The red strained to get out of the way while a large beak struck down like lightning and make short work of the yellow pikmin. The beast turned around, its pure white feathers glowing against the ray of light. The red, having fallen on his back, didn't even have time to observe the fearful monster before him. It let out a short, high-pitched noise before quickly gripping the red in its beak. He could hardly scream as he slipped down the darkness of its throat and into death.


	9. Pikpik Carrots

**I swear, this is the best idea I've had since I decided to add my own original pikmin spin on a book by Wayne Douglas Barlowe!**

Hello and welcome. First, we'd like to thank you for spending a measly mono-poko to view this guide! Today, you'll be informed on how to start a successful pikpik carrot garden!

Why don't we start and find out what a pikpik carrot is? The pikpik carrot, _Palpo hocotatium_, is a fast growing plant that can take root almost anywhere. Though they only exist in small populations in the wild, they are very common as a domestic crop, for both commercial and hobby related reasons. Pikpiks are famous for being a key ingredient in the prized Onion Soup dish.

Below, you will find every important detail for the raising of pikpik carrots in just three sections! We hope this helps, and remember, have fun with it!

Knowing the Carrots

Pikpik carrots come in four different varieties: red, yellow, blue and the rare gold. It's imperative that you know that they aren't all the same; each one has different methods that need to be applied for the best possible outcome!

-The red carrots are the most common species. They are best known for their mild spicy flavor. They actually grow and broaden more in high temperatures, something that can slow the growth of the other species or stunt it all together.

-The yellow carrots are slightly smaller than the other species. They taste tangy, but with a little bite. These carrots are very strong; they can take root in mediums that would be too tough for the other species, like rock-hard ground. As a result, these are the cheapest to grow.

-The blue carrots grow faster the more they are watered; the opposite applies with the other species, which can drown easily. In fact, these can effectively grow in a puddle. Have a little fun and see how long it takes for the water to be sapped dry!

-The golden carrots are the most valuable, but the hardest to raise. They have actual curved roots, unlike the rest, and two stems. They require quality soil and are susceptible to both heat and water. Not to mention they are easily damaged and take a long time to grow. But it's probably worth it; a box of them is worth a year's salary at Hocotate Freight! Now if only people didn't love to eat them ahead of time...

Growth

Different carrots grow differently under various conditions, which we've covered. But they all have the same basic cycle of life.

Pikpik carrots start out as small seeds with tiny sprouts, which vaguely resemble the leaves that they'll grow into. When planted, they develop protruding stems fairly quickly. Past this point, all other development is focused on growth and quality.

You'll know when your carrot is ready to be plucked because the "head" will start to noticeably protrude from the ground. But this doesn't mean you have to pluck it, no; you can wait for it to reproduce.

After a given amount of time, a leaf can gradually develop into a bud and then a gleaming white flower (gold flower in the gold carrot's case). The flower will release seeds, which result in more carrots! Afterwards, the flower will shrivel, die, and fall off, soon to be replaced by another leaf.

_Never _pluck a carrot that's in bud or flower stage, unless you plan on replanting it. The taste is actually _worse_ during these times!

Pests

Hocotatian people aren't the only ones out for a belly full of carrot! There are animals out there that are hungry for some produce, so keep your eyes out for these pesky critters in particular.

Stray Dogs- Bipedal dogs tend to appear in various forms, but the most often occurring variety is tri-toned: one color for the head, another color for the body, and the last color for the spots that litter their backs. Strays are typically nocturnal, so it's never a bad idea to let your own well trained pet out on guard duty, or build a fence. Dogs are particularly damaging to your garden as they really know how to indulge themselves; one dog alone can wipe out nearly an entire backyard patch by itself!

**A/N: I suggest you search "Bulbie Pikmin" on dA.**

Cats- One-eyed cats with light bellies and feet, as well as a large head patch. Cats can very easily hop the fence. While they don't _eat _carrots, they have an instinctive drive to pounce on the stem areas, possibly for hunting practice. The carrots can be badly damaged this way. Dogs make the best guards.

Space Bunnies- Space Bunnies are a common species across the galaxy, and occur on Hocotate sometimes. They are recognizable by their pure white color and pencil-thin black stripes. They really like carrots, especially golden ones, making them a serious problem for golden farmers. Fences aren't enough to stop them as they will chew right through it. Luckily, they eat slowly, nibbling away at each carrot one at a time. Catching one isn't always easy; they are excellent diggers and can disappear under typical garden soil in seconds. Dogs or medicated cats are suggested.

Weasels- Elongated, legless weasels alone aren't a big threat, as they normally don't eat more than three carrots per visit. They are recognizable by their heads being a plain, fluffy color while the rest of the body is a sharp sheen. The issue begins when their numbers accumulate. This can happen pretty easily since they freely announce the discovery of food through sharp cries. Like Space Bunnies, they are good burrowers, but unlike Space Bunnies, they can burrow as a method of fleeing the area, instead of simply hiding. Constructing a fence rooted deep in the ground can stop them.

Pigs- It isn't very hard to keep pigs out, but once they get in, it's nearly impossible to drive them away, so don't let that happen! These long-snouted animals with vestigial eyes eat carrots at an alarming rate, though how much they'll eat in one sitting is hard to predict. For some reason, they refuse to feed on the red carrots.

And that's all the basic need-to-know's! Remember what you've learned, and make Hocotate greener!

**Spot the references!**


	10. Don't Go Into The Light

**Don't Go Into The Light**

There was a forest of mist.

A forest with a heavy canopy.

A forest whose understory was eternally shrouded.

It was inhabited by pikmin.

The whole area was covered in shadow.

Except for just one place.

At the edge of the forest, there was a large parting. And from it, a bright light shined. It was the light of the sun. It was a clearing, with no trees to block the light that glimmered through the mist. It was a spot of perfect visibility.

And the pikmin feared it greatly.

A young leafling wandering in the forest.

Navigating through mist and plants and rods of sunshine.

It then found the brightest ball of light it'd ever seen.

It was the clearing. Curious, it approached and looked into the light. It liked what it saw, and looking both ways, it walked into the glimmer.

And was never seen again.

A daring pikmin challenged the light once. There were other who'd come to watch. It taunted them for being afraid of something so harmless. Then, with a loud snort, vanished beyond the light and didn't return like it said it would.

One of the bystanders charged in after him. There were no sounds. All was quiet.

That one didn't come back either.

An older pikmin being chased through the woods by a Bulborb.

He was getting on in years, and the Bulborb was catching up with him.

This was the end.

But he got an idea. It was nuts, but he had to try.

He ventured into the light.

The Bulborb followed in hot pursuit. Its loud footsteps boomed into the distance.

...

The pikmin came leaping out of the light, landing on its face. Two other pikmin rushed in to assist it.

It had returned from the light.

The Bulborb wasn't so lucky though.

Many months passed, and the pikmin taught their descendants to stay out of the light. Some ignorant or stubborn specimens did it anyway. Very few returned, but the ones that did had nothing to say.

Soon, trips into the light stopped completely.

Until one day, a pikmin hiding under a large leaf snuck towards the light.

It gulped heavily and walked into the brightness, seemingly vanishing into the epic glow.

It crouched to the ground, holding its leaf, trying to stay protected from any perils.

It then stood up and looked around.

The sight was strange. Various parts of the clearing were stained with red.

Deciding it had seen enough, it pushed the leaf aside and turned back to tell the others about what it was like. Surely this would discourage any rouge venturings.

He jogged back towards the protection of the trees, the mist, the darkness, the understory.

Just as he approached the entrance to the shadows, he heard a faint noise and looked behind him.

And was gone without even a squeal.


	11. Reds vs Whites

**This is part of Great Thumbs of Wisdom's oneshot campaign. The theme this month is war, and his part is titled "The Copper Edge". If you want more details on the campaign, please PM him.**

**It's been awhile since I've updated any of my pikfics, hasn't it? The reason is that I'm mostly focusing on DeviantART now. Will that change? I don't know, so I couldn't tell you regardless. I understand that most of the users in this section are new (since the time I stopped posting), but there must still be some oldies here, right?**

In the lush forest, the sun was just above the horizon. Bulborbs were settling in their spots to rest, and unmarked spectralids sat idle as they waited for the temperature to rise. The corpse of a wollywog slumped at the egde of a pond, and a swarm of fly-like creatures known as red bottles were feeding on it. An unlucky one hit the surface of the water and was scooped up by a water dumple. Soon a breadbug, having smelled decay, appeared to claim the feast. When it started dragging the wollywog away, the red bottles scattered into a mass of loud buzzing. Life proceeded as normal.

And in a small clearing was a tiny mound, and in this mound was an opening that led directly downwards. A white pikmin popped out, and it proceeded to march away. It was followed by many more, about thirty or so. Twenty five minutes later, each on came back with a berry in tow. They had discovered a grove of burgeoning spiderworts, and had reaped the rewards. One after one, the workers jumped into the hole. But instead of a sublevel, this hole led to a system of tunnels. The pikmin walked through a specific pathway single file, which led them deeper and deeper into the nest until...

...They reached the chamber that housed the center of their colony. The white onion.

The white onion was unusual as far as onions go. It couldn't fly nor did it have three stilts. Instead, it had many, more spindly legs that it could crawl about with, and was slightly more bloated. It also had some vague purple markings.

Each pikmin presented its berry before the onion. From beneath it, a feeding tube appeared to engulf each berry like a snake does a mouse. After absorbing them all, it ejected a large number of seeds from its flower. These took root, grew into white pikmin and were plucked by the others. The newborns fell in with them.

Another group, numbering even more than before, emerged from the nest to continue harvesting the berries. The process continued as before. Eventually, the white onion couldn't eat any more, so the surplus food was either stored or eaten by the deserving units. Since pikmin lack teeth, the berries had to be mashed to a pulp before consumption.

After some time, all the berries were gone. Another group of pikmin emerged and left in search of more food to feed the ever growing colony. And their sensitive eyes were perfect for locating sustenance both above and below ground.

But they were being watched now.

From a slightly higher elevation watched another pikmin. It was bigger and had a pointy nose, a red pikmin. It surveyed the nest area for a few moments, cautiously eyeing the whites still milling about the perimeter. Then it hurried away. Fast as its legs could carry it. It couldn't take any chances; if it had been noticed, the white pikmin would've mobbed it to death, and there would've been no hope for escape since whites are twice as fast as reds.

Why would the whites do this? You're about to find out.

The red made it back to another clearing in the forest; this one larger. In it was the red onion, and below it was a huge swarm of other reds. The scout ran up to them and waved its leaf, giving off a series of _bopes. _The rest of the colony got the message and came forward. The red scurried back from the direction it came, followed by a crimson mass.

...

Some white pikmin were sitting near their mound when they saw it. A single red pikmin. They got to their feet and prepared themselves, but then saw many more erupting from the plants. They were sent shuffling down the hole, and only moments later did many whites come pouring out from underground like water from a fountain. It was on.

White pikmin only feed on plant matter, as both they and their onion cannot digest solid protein. Reds can't either, but their onion can. Hence these omnivores are known as the Red Death: the last thing an unsuspecting creature in the forest sees before it dies is a red wave heading for it.

White pikmin themselves aren't palatable to anything because of their poison, with the only known exception being the brown bulborb. But they weren't what the reds were after. Not only was this reducing the competition, but they could take their vast food reserves and, more importantly, the white onion which would feed them for a long time. Without it, the colony would collapse.

And the white pikmin knew this.

The whites formed a defensive mob around the mound, and the reds didn't hesitate to charge right in. The whites outnumbered the reds and were faster, but the reds were bigger and had those spear-like noses.

Right upon contact, pikmin of both colors were thrown about in a storm of striking leaves. Battle cries filled the air. The whites flocked and overwhelmed the front-liners, but the second wave literally knocked them back on their feet. After only seconds passed, the fighters scattered around the area, violence going on everywhere. A red knocked a white off its feet, only to be attacked from the rear by a second one. Three white pikmin attacked a red at once, hastily killing it before moving on to others. A small band of five reds used their combined attacks to dispatch any white that confronted them. A single red and a single white rapidly exchanged blows until the white dropped dead. That same pikmin then took on another white, but died of its injuries. Before the victorious white could select a knew target, another red drove its nose through its eye. Blood squirted on the red's face and it withdrew its unusual weapon. Its brain having been punctured, the white was dead before it hit the ground. The fighting continued as dead bodies continued to fall.

Underground, white pikmin were furiously hammering at the walls of the tunnels with their leaves. They were trying to signal the white onion to do something. It received the signal, but was it too late to act?

It didn't matter at this point. Straightening its feet, some pikmin were sent sliding down its legs...

The battle above ground was a losing one now. The dirt was littered with the bodies of dead and dying whites, and the reds were now advancing on the nest's entrance. Sixteen white pikmin came barreling out and attacked the still numerous reds, but they were quickly overpowered and defeated while only managing to kill a few of their enemies. The preparations weren't ready yet; there was still more stalling to be done. Red after red infiltrated the nest as the remaining white pikmin formed their last stand in the tunnels.

A red pikmin came through. It was easily killed by the white pikmin blocking its path. Another red came through. It too, was killed. Then several more pikmin came through. Using both its nose and leaf, one killed a white and severely injured another before it fell. A second red sprang forward and actually dragged a white away, where it was beaten to a bloody mess by the others. Then every red came at once. The whites did their best to hold them back, but it was no use. They were at an even worse disadvantage down here because they had nowhere to dodge the club of their leaves or the sting of their noses. A small number of red pikmin went down, yes, but mostly white corpses were filling the tunnel.

But that was fine. They had already bought the white onion enough time to deliver its final line of defense.

The whites, detecting something, immediately parted to adjacent tunnels to make way. Something came through and struck a red pikmin its leaf. You could hear the neck snap as it took the blow right to the forhead. Killed in one shot, the other reds hesitated briefly. Another one attacked, but was knocked down with a blow to the chest. It got back up, only to be knocked down again by another strike to the same area. It didn't rise again. Finally, they all came at it at once. In the assault, the foe had died and no more reds were lost. But more of them were coming. And when they came, they hit hard with their shattering blows. The reds furiously fought back, still managing to make some kills, but they themselves were dying at a speedy pace now. The force quickly became too much, and the rest of the reds were either forced back above ground or were destroyed.

Outside the burrow, more reds were waiting as the red onion had sent in reinforcements. The reds retreating from the hole grouped with them, and they prepared for another attack.

The foes revealed themselves as they stomped out of the hole. They were nothing like the whites. They were twice the sides of the reds, and much stronger too. Their bulk alone was intimidating, and they seemed just as determined as the whites that had given their lives.

They were purple pikmin. The soldiers of the white pikmin colony.

The small army of purples stomped as a threat display. The reds weren't deterred and went back to attacking. One jumped for a purple, but it grabbed the red in mid air and ripped it clean in half with its brute strength. The odds were reversed now; the reds outnumbered the purples, while the purples were stronger.

The battle carried on viciously. The reds mindlessly hacked away at the purples, but the purples slammed, crushed and even tore apart the reds. Suddenly, the fighting starting to reduce; the pikmin near the front were falling back now, though some continued to fight. But in a large flurry of attacks, they were brutally killed.

All was paused now. The purples struck the ground with their leaves as the reds stood back. The reds had already suffered huge casualties. Less than twenty-five of them remained. There were only seven purples still standing, but one purple alone was a match for five reds. And at this rate, the red onion could run out of backup. The two sides eyed each other silently.

White pikmin started to arrive to provide reinforcements. The decision was made at that moment. As quickly as it had started, it was over. The reds, as if sharing a mind, all bolted at once back to their onion.

The white pikmin colony had won the battle.

At least for today.


End file.
